Riverton Volunteer Fire Company being sued after alleged sexual harassment

LITCHFIELD >> The Riverton Volunteer Fire Company is being sued by a teenage girl who says she was ejected from the department as retaliation for being critical of members who'd sexually harassed her.Brittany Thibault, a member of a long-volunteering family according to her attorney, is suing for intentional emotional distress, violations of freedom protected by Connecticut's Constitution, denial of due process, retaliation as a violation of worker's compensation laws and slander.The teenager was ejected from the volunteer fire company in Oct. 2012 after the suit claims the board of directors held an executive session without Thibault present, and ejected her for broad allegations, which were never investigated.Attorneys defending the fire district and company are seeking to have several of the counts struck, saying the constitution doesn't provide for separate causes of action and the counts don't match the case's facts. Defense attorneys further claim in the motion that defendants' alleged sexual remarks, “do not describe actions by the defendants that were extreme and outrageous that rise to the level of intentional infliction of emotional distress.”Winsted-based attorney Patsy Renzullo, who initially filed the suit, called the volunteer fire department an, “all boys network.”“Basically, I mean, she's a courageous young lady. She's not the kind of person who just takes, who would be offended by the tiniest thing. They tossed her out of the department for no good reason and it was tantamount to a kangaroo court,” said Renzullo.An attorney from the firm defending the fire company and its members, Bridgeport-based Murphy and Karpie LLC, could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts over two days.Thibault, 19 years old at the time the suit was filed in Jan. 2012, is the plaintiff in a suit that claims she suffered emotional stress after a member and volunteer firefighter, Keith Archer, “grabbed the teenage plaintiff's buttocks and after she slapped him made [a] comment regarding her breasts.”The suit doesn't include a specific date the assault happened, but says it was “some time prior” to her expulsion from the department.Further, Riverton Volunteer Fire Company Chief Larry Gillen is accused subjecting Thibault to, “numerous, inappropriate and suggestive remarks of a sexual nature... which were frequently accompanied by ogling and improper gestures.”According to the complaint, Thibault was summoned to an executive session of the Riverton Volunteer Fire Company's Board of Directors by letter, on Sept. 26, 2012, alleging Thibault had a complaint filed against her by a “special needs child” earlier that day.Additionally, the letter referenced in the lawsuit claims Thibault had exhibited, “'aggressive actions' during preparation for parades, at drills and on social media.” She was suspended indefinitely that day.Thibault asked the board of directors to postpone the Oct. 2, 2012 meeting because she was unable to attend, but the meeting was nevertheless held without Thibault present, and she received a letter notifying her of her expulsion on Oct. 8, 2012. Board of directors members “voted unanimously to expel,” Thibault, the suit says.“The letter indicated that the investigation into [Thibault's] alleged misconduct had not been concluded at the time of her expulsion,” says the suit. The suit further claims that the board, “failed to produce any evidence to support the allegations against [Thibault],” and that the person or persons who'd filed a complaint against her also weren't produced.The hearing by which Thibault was dismissed forms the basis of Renzullo's due process argument. The suit also claims Thibault was slandered by Gillen's daughter, Tina Gillen, when Gillen alleged to her father that Thibault, “was guilty of misconduct involving special needs children and other matters.”Renzullo declined to say how much in punitive damages Thibault is suing for, saying the suit isn't, “about money.”The suit was first heard in Litchfield Superior Court on Feb. 2013, and a motion to strike several of the counts laid out in the plaintiff's suit against the fire district is pending before Judge John A. Danaher. The latest motion was filed Friday, Sept. 20.Reach Jessica Glenza at 860-489-3121 ext. 324.